5

CHAPTER
NIGHT AND LOW-LIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY / Weddings, Concerts, and
Other Events

lens, a staple for wedding and event photogra-

phers. This lens allows you to use any of the focal

lengths between 70 and 200mm at the wide f/2.8,

allowing in a lot of light. There are other options

such as using cheaper prime lenses that have even

wider maximum apertures but don’t have the

same focal length range. Lenses like the 50mm

and 24mm can usually be purchased for a few

hundred dollars.

Prime lenses can have even wider maximum

apertures, allowing in even more light. These

wide apertures are great for the low-light part,

but because you are using them at such wide

The basics of exposure allow you to change the
shutter speed, the aperture, and the ISO.
However, to set the shutter speed high enough to
freeze the action, you need to adjust the aperture
and ISO.

The range of apertures is a function of the lens,
not the camera. The maximum aperture is the
widest that the aperture in a lens can open allow-
ing more light to reach the sensor, so for weddings
in low-light situations, the bigger the opening,
the better. When it comes to zoom lenses, the
biggest opening is f/2.8 and the most popular lens
for getting in close is the 70–200mm f/2.8 zoom

ABOUT THIS PHOTO It’s a good thing that the bride and groom were not moving much because the low-light conditions in the church cre-
ated a situation where photographer Kenny Kim needed to use a wide aperture and very high ISO. Photographed at 1/80 second, f/2.8, and ISO 3200.
© Kenny Kim

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